DESTINATIONS

Summary

Within the EU, and particularly following the economic crisis; tourism will be the ‘engine for economic growth’, particularly in the underperforming Mediterranean economies; where tourism has traditionally been a dominant economic sector. The world market of tourists continues to grow, and Europe has unique selling points for further tourist growth from within and outside the EU (including China). The competitive tourism market means that cities must provide the high-quality, sustainable environments desired by tourists while providing local, sustainable employment opportunities that overcome tourist economies’ seasonal and sometimes informal nature. Achieving sustainable mobility is a vital part of the growth equation for Europe’s tourist cities.DESTINATIONS will develop an innovative holistic approach to building sustainable urban mobility systems for residents and tourists. The project impacts will positively contribute to demonstrating how this can achieve growth and provide a benchmark for other EU tourist cities. DESTINATIONS will demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of innovative sustainable mobility solutions in 6 tourist cities with different characteristics but sharing common challenges. The solutions will address Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning for residents and visitors; Safe, attractive and accessible public spaces for all generations; Shared mobility and e-infrastructures towards zero emissions transport; Smart & clean urban freight logistics at tourist destinations; Mobility management & awareness for sustainable mobility; Attractive, clean, accessible and efficient public transport. Achieving the objectives will increase the city’s attractiveness, both for tourists and businesses in the sector and multiplier impacts in the economy for goods and services. These will contribute to better social cohesion (which attracts further investment). So sustainable mobility grows the economy.